Inside Tehran: 'My daughter is under the rubble'

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0:30It's emotionally unstable. Lunatic in the newsroom. Listen today. Hi, I'm Alicia. And I'm Stacy. And we make Trashy Divorces, everybody's favorite good podcast about bad relationships. Looking for something true crimey without the gore or the body count? We've been churning out funny, feisty, feminist episodes since 2019. So if you're looking to put some scandalous stories told well into your ears this summer, Check out Trashy Divorces wherever you listen to podcasts. Trust us, we've covered someone you love or someone you love to hate. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

1:13I'm Celia Hatton, and at 16 hours GMT on Friday, the 27th of March, these are our main stories. With the war in Iran continuing, a BBC investigation tracks the effects of airstrikes on Tehran. We'll hear from our Jerusalem correspondent on Israel's military strategy. And Ukraine signs a deal to share expertise with Saudi Arabia on combating drones and missiles, gained over four years of war with Russia. Also in this podcast, a moment rarely witnessed. The whales were thrashing about and then there was a gush of blood that came up in the middle. But amongst these 11 female whales, each about 40 feet, the small whale emerges.

2:00Sperm whales helping one of their pod give birth.

2:07We start with a BBC investigation into how the war is being waged inside Iran and who is being hid in those attacks. For the last month, Iran's capital, Tehran, has been under assault. Data examined by the BBC shows that Israel has dropped 3 ,600 munitions on the city in the last four weeks and has hit 38 police stations and bases of the Bazij, which is a large voluntary militia connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. Many of those strikes have hit into the heart of residential areas. The U.S. is involved in this war too, and it says it's carried out more than 9 ,000 attacks across Iran.

2:48Both the United States and Israel say they do not deliberately target civilians. With rare access inside Tehran and using satellite imagery, social media content and interviews, our senior international investigations correspondent Nawal al-Maghafi reports.

3:11In Resalat, eastern Tehran, a mother in agony. Her daughter has been trapped under the rubble for three days. My daughter's scared of the dark, she cries. She calls out for her child. Maryam, she wails.

3:35But help has come too late. It's been three days since this neighborhood was attacked by Israeli forces. They told us they were targeting a military compound of the Iranian besiege, part of the Revolutionary Guard. We confirmed the building they targeted was used by the besiege militia.

4:02The bomb hit so suddenly it threw me. Then there was another strike. But that day, three other residential buildings were also struck in quick succession.

4:16I hit the wall and then fell. I tried to stand up three times, but I was knocked into the wall.

4:26This man, who we're calling Ali, has lived in the neighbourhood for 50 years. His building was badly damaged in the attack.

4:41I stood up again and I don't know what happened. Rubble fell on my head. My hands, my back, my legs and my ears were bleeding. I don't have anything now.

4:56We gathered as much evidence as we could on the ground and examined satellite imagery from after the strike. Our investigation showed that four buildings were completely obliterated and the blast damaged homes and businesses in a 65 metres radius. Hours after the attack, the local mayor spoke to the media.

5:19Unfortunately, they destroyed 30 residences. This was no pinpoint attack. They have caused a lot of damage.

5:31Rescuers worked through the night to try and find survivors. Local authorities and residents said at least 40 people were killed, but they said the besieged building had been evacuated. Military experts told us that the scale and spread of the damage in this attack is consistent with the use of one of the largest bombs, the Mark 80, which weighs 2 ,000 pounds. Rasalat is one of the 38 police stations and besiege bases we've identified as being hit in Tehran alone, most of them in densely populated areas. Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.

6:12The U.S. and Israel say by targeting police and besiege installations, they're preparing the ground for the Iranian people to overthrow the government. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. But it's the Iranian people that are getting caught in the crossfire. I don't know who's OK or not. I just know my friends at the end of the alley are all dead. And we have more on this story with Nawal al-Maghafi on our YouTube channel.

6:57Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News Podcast in the podcast section. That report from Nawal as Israel says it will step up strikes against Iran as a result of its continued missile fire. Our Middle East correspondent Yolan Nell is in Jerusalem. The Defence Minister Israel Katz was quoted from a briefing with military officials. He said the prime minister and I warned the Iranian regime to stop the missile fire towards civilians in Israel. And he says, despite the warnings, the fire continues. Therefore, IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand to additional targets. This after the Israeli military said it carried out another wide scale wave of attacks in Iran overnight.

7:39It said specifically that it bombed Iran's central naval arms production site and ballistic missile factories this morning. And after a lengthy lull overnight, sirens went off this morning also in southern Israel, in settlements in parts of the West Bank. There was a missile that was downed with no injuries or property damage reported. A short time ago, there were sirens here in Jerusalem sending people into shelters and now just had another alert for a new attack on southern Israel. On another front, though, Israel's been attacking targets in Lebanon. That's right. An Israeli airstrike targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut this morning.

8:16That's an area that's really known as a Hezbollah stronghold. There have been a real kind of uptick in attacks by Hezbollah in the past day or so. And they seem to be escalating at the same time as Israel is expanding its occupation of southern Lebanon. The Israeli military has said that it needs more troops to carry out that big deployment. That's where it says it's trying to set up what it calls a buffer zone to protect its own citizens. On that note, though, Israel's main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has accused the government of steering the country towards a security disaster because of a shortage of combat soldiers.

8:54That's right. He's really worried after having security briefings about the issue of strains on Israel's military manpower. And, you know, he said that the government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means and with far too few soldiers. And that is important because up to now, the political opposition has largely been aligned with the government on the war effort in both Iran and Lebanon. Yolanda Nell. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he signed a defense cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. He said his country was ready to share its expertise in combating drones and ballistic missiles, the kind of weapons that Saudi Arabia has been facing from Iran over recent weeks.

9:41In return, Ukraine could get help in defending itself against Russia, particularly now that the U.S. is distracted with its own war in Iran. Mr Zelensky is currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia. So what can Ukraine offer the Saudis? I spoke to Vitaly Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring's chief analyst in Kyiv. First of all, it's the drones. As you say, Celia, the Gulf states have been facing them over the past weeks and Ukraine has been facing them over the past four years. So clearly they know a thing or two about how to deal with those drones, especially given that many of those drones are of the same type, the Shahid drones that are attacking both the Gulf states and Ukraine.

10:28So we're talking about actual interceptor drones, such as the P1SUN. Then also there's the issue of integrating these interceptor drones with radars because they don't work on their own. that have to be deployed as part of a system. And thirdly, Ukraine's expertise, as far as we understand, about 230 Ukrainian experts, members of the Ukrainian military, have experienced in fighting drones. They are already in the Gulf. So this is what Ukraine is offering to the Gulf states. Remarkable, though, Vitaly, because we have to remember that Ukraine is still very much fighting a war with Russia. How much can the Ukrainians realistically offer other countries right now?

11:24That's a question that we asked here in Kyiv in conversations with a number of Ukrainian drone manufacturers. And they're all saying that they're confident that they can scale up production. No problem. It's only a question of money. and money is what the Gulf states do not seem to have a shortage of. But the government in Kiev is really keen for this to be not just a commercial transaction. Volodymyr Zelensky is saying that he wants to put Ukraine on the map as a donor of security. That's the phrase that he used this morning. So that's why those drone manufacturers in Ukraine that we've been talking to, they're saying, look, we've got the kits, we've got the products, The Gulf states want to buy it.

12:12Countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have approached Ukrainian drone manufacturers, but everyone is waiting for the green light from the Ukrainian president. How's this all being received inside Ukraine? There's a feeling that the tables have been turned. Ukraine for so many years has been a recipient of aid and technology and reliant on what others were willing to give to Kyiv. Right now, Ukraine is being asked for help. That's why there's a sense of national pride attached to all this as well. Vitaly Shevchenko. Well, the war in Iran is having an effect far beyond the Middle East. It's causing problems in economic sectors you might not even have heard of.

12:58In South Korea, there's a shortage of a raw material used to make plastic bags and other packaging. The process needs a chemical called nafta, much of which is imported from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz. There are now fears of a shortage of plastic bags and packaging in South Korea. Jake Kwon is our correspondent in Seoul. Nafta is a crucial ingredient in making plastic products, and especially in this case, plastic bags. And I think some of our listeners might think, so what? Or, oh, good, it will make people use reusable bags instead. But this isn't a small problem here because South Korea has a rule that everyone must use plastic bags for their waste.

13:38And not just any plastic bag, but everyone must buy these government printed bags to throw out their food and general trash. So there was a bit of a panic as people wondered whether they should run to the store and stock up on them before what they feared would happen next month. And there are, of course, plenty of other products that use plastic parts or wrappings. We're talking diapers, the plastic box, South Korea's many takeout restaurants rely on to sell their food. It makes us think about the importance of plastic, doesn't it? I mean, what other measures is the government in Seoul introducing to cope with the fuel crisis?

14:11Every day there has been an emergency meeting by the government to figure out if this really tough and unsolvable problem. The government is talking about finding a different source of oil and gas. They also want to nip the panic at the butt. Before the price of petrol runs away, the government introduced price cap and promised stern punishment to companies that might try to profit off of this by hoarding the supply. And they're also tackling it from the demand side. The government had urged the public to cut back on electricity use, suggesting all kinds of measures, including taking shorter showers and turning down the heaters and AC.

14:46Jake, it's not only South Korea that's taking steps. Over in Japan, the government's acting there too. The government there says it's going to allow the increased use of coal-fired power stations because of fuel shortages. That seems like a big decision. It is a big measure for a big problem. I mean, starting next month, Japan will lift restrictions. It has been placing on coal power to fight climate change to cut down on the fossil fuel. And this is because Japan depends on the Middle East for most of its energy needs. One measure shows that around 90 % of its oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz.

15:22And they're trying to switch lanes to importing coal, which mainly comes from Australia. Jake Kwan in South Korea. Still to come in this podcast, how much screen time should a two-year-old get? It's on my mind every day. But at the same time, it's just like you've got other pressures. And most of the time it is to avoid conflicts, meltdowns, and to give yourself a bit of a break. New advice for parents.

15:56Hey, I'm Josh Spiegel, host of the podcast Lunatic in the Newsroom. If you enjoy journalism that drifts into mild panic, wild overthinking, and a guaranteed nervous breakdown, Lunatic in the Newsroom is for you. It's news like you've never heard before. The only newsroom with a panic button. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and gasp in horror as the show spirals completely out of control. It's not just news, it's emotionally unstable. Lunatic in the newsroom. Listen today. Have you ever received a call from a stranger regarding student loans you don't owe? An unpaid parking ticket for a car that you don't even own?

16:34If so, you might have been the target of a scam orchestrated by criminals thousands of miles away. I'm Tristan Redman, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast, and we're taking an inside look at the highly lucrative scam factories of Southeast Asia. Listen to the Global Story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

17:00This is the Global News podcast. Let's move away from the conflict in the Middle East now and have a look at a couple of other stories. Nepal has a new prime minister.

17:17The newly elected MPs giving their oaths at a ceremony to swear in the new Prime Minister, the rapper-turned-politician Belendra Shah. Earlier this month, his party won a landslide victory. It was the country's first election since protests that were driven by young people toppled Nepal's government. From Mumbai, the BBC's South Asia correspondent, Yogita Lamaya, reports. 35-year-old Balendra Shah took oath as Nepal's prime minister in a ceremony that included Hindu and Buddhist rituals in the capital Kathmandu. His party swept to power riding on public anger against Nepal's political old god.

17:55Deeply entrenched corruption and rising unemployment were among the key reasons why masses of young people took to the streets in September last year, ousting Nepal's leadership. Balendra Shah, who's won an unprecedented mandate, has promised that his government will tackle corruption, deliver social justice, expand the economy and create jobs. These are daunting challenges for a relatively inexperienced politician. Trained as an engineer, Balendra Shah was a rapper before he turned to politics and was accused of a high-handed leadership style when he was Kathmandu's mayor. Yogatalamaya. Scientists have observed a group of sperm whales supporting a mother whale giving birth and then helping the newborn calf take its first breath out of the water.

18:42The observations took place in the eastern Caribbean off the coast of Dominica. Professor David Gruber is the founder of Project SETI and one of the researchers who captured that moment on film. He spoke to James Menendez about what they saw. The crazy thing is that we came across these whales quite early in the morning. There was 11 members of a unit known as Unit A, which our lead biologist knows each individually as family members. And we just saw this kind of very odd behavior where they were all kind of facing inward. And they were just going up and down and doing these shallow dives. And then about two hours in, there was just a tremendous amount of thrashing.

19:24And the whales were thrashing about, and then there was a gush of blood that came up in the middle. And then amongst these 11 female whales, each about 40 feet, it was, you know, the small whale emerges and we see it. What was going through your mind? Every now and then, you know, something just truly extraordinary happens. And I think we were all just so grateful to have been there and even more grateful that, like, our equipment was working. And even more than that, we had observers on the boat that were just so intimately familiar with these whales and their history for several decades. So all these combined allowed us to do this really unique type of study.

20:04So when the baby whale was born, what were the others doing then? Supporting the mother? Supporting the baby? What we saw right after the birth is that the family members, the unit members, were working to lift the baby out of the water. So the baby was really unable to swim for the first few minutes. And they were just basically, you know, working as a group to kind of uplift the baby out of the water and almost twirling it around at some point completely out of the water. I think you used some machine learning software to analyze some of the recordings that you made. What did it tell you about the way that they were working together?

20:45What we did is we developed a computer vision software that draws little circles around each individual whale so you know them by their name. And then we passed this off to a complex network science team to really show what role each whale played in this very unique whale birth. And what, it was all coordinated? One of the really interesting parts that I felt was that among Unit A, this group of whales, there's both kin and non-kin. But we saw that they took turns among kinship lines. So two kin holding and then two non-kin. And this went on for several hours until the baby was able to swim away.

21:31And at the end of this kind of, you know, very intensive day, we basically watched just the mom and the baby kind of swim off into the sunset. And this is the first time this behaviour has been observed in what? A species, an animal other than primates? This is one of the most cooperative, empathetic examples of an entry into the world. Maybe only humans would be the one that we can compare this event to. And do you think it's replicated across other whale species? I would think so. We date this behavior back over 34 million years. You know, whales are these ocean-living ancestors that we had a common ancestor with them over 90 million years ago, and we stayed on land and they went into the water.

22:16But to give birth in the water, the baby is actually negatively buoyant. So, like, the baby would sink like a rock. So this type of collaborative lifting among sperm whales, in order for them to do this successfully, is something that goes way back. It's truly unique for these, you know, these ocean-dwelling ancestors. David Gruber. Many parents around the world find it difficult to deal with the issue of screen time for their young children. How much is too much and what's safe? In Britain, new official advice in England from education experts says that children under two should not have any time watching a screen on their own, and under fives should be limited to an hour a day.